Web-manipulating mechanism for printing-presses.



PATENTBD NOV. 28, 1905.

H. F. BBOHMAN. WEB MANIPULATING MECHANISM FOR PRINTING PRESSES.

APPLIOATION FILED JULY 2. 1904.

flew/77w? A ttornrys UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY F. BEOHMAN, OF BATTLEOREEK, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO DUPLEX PRINTING PRESS COMPANY, OF BATTLEGREEK, MICHIGAN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 2, 1904. Serial No. 215,158.

Patented Nov. 28, 1905.

To a whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HENRY F. BECHMAN, of Battlecreek, in the county of Calhoun and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Web-Manipulating Mechanism for Printing-Presses; and I hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification.

This invention is an improvement in webmanipulating mechanisms of that class in which the web as a whole may move continuously'and intermediate parts move intermittently, which action is ordinarily accomplished by means of oppositely-moving looping-rollers so arranged as to alternately take up and give out loops of the web. The manipulating mechanisms of this character are particularly useful inconnection with stationary-bed reciprocating-cylinder web-printing machines and are employed in the wellknown duplex presses and this invention is specifically applicable to such presses and designed for use in connection therewith.

In the ordinary duplex press the web is compensated by a single pair of looping-rollers which are actuated by a cam and at the proper timetake up and give out the web alternately, so as to stop the movement of the web while it is printed and then move it quickly forward. The loopingrollers of the duplex machine necessarily have an extent of movement equal to one-fourth the length of the sheet plus its margins or the form from which it is being printed. For example, if the sheet is twenty-four inches long the looping-rollers must have a movement of six inches. These looping-rollers are actuated by cams, and the cams are necessarily of considerable eccentricity to give the desired throw to the looping-rollers.

The object of the present invention is to lessen the throw of the looping-rollers and reduce the eccentricity of the cams, thereby obtaining an easier-running mechanism and one which will operate with less jar and shock, and the looping-rollers have a much slower movement than they can have in the duplex machine or other mechanisms in which webmanipulating devices of this character have been employed.

I will describe the invention as applied to a gitudinal sectional elevation of a duplex press with my improved web-looping mechanism applied. Figs. 2 and 3 are comparative diagrams showing the differences in the movements of my improved looping devices and'the old looping devices.

The web WV is led from the roll to the feeding devices A and then passed over the lower set of looping devices, which I will hereinafter describe, to the guide a, then between the lower bed B and cylinder B, then over the coaxing-roll a, up over coaxing-roll (1 back between upper bed 0 and cylinder 0, back to guide a then through the upper set of weblooping mechanisms to the delivery devices A. These parts are substantially the same in construction and arrangement as those ordinarily employed in the duplex press and operate substantially as described in the patent to Joseph L. Cox, No. 478,503, of July 2, 1892.

The lower set of looping devices, as shown, consist of three parallel looping-rollers 1, 2, and 3, which are mounted upon supports attached to vertically-movable bars L, which are reciprocated by means of levers L and cams L substantially such as are employed in the duplex machine.

Below the lower looping-rollers 1, 2, and 3 and intermediate the same are fixed web-guide rollers 4 and 5. The web is looped over roller 1, under roller 5, again looped over roller 2, under roller 4, and again looped over roller 3 down under guide a. These rollers 1, 2, and 3 take care of the in-fed web and are moved upward during the printing of the web in such time as to take up all the web fed in during the printing operation. Then the rollers descend and give off the previously-accumulated loops. The upper set of looping devices comprise three rollers 1 2 3 and two fixed guide-rollers 5 and 4 The rollers 1 2 and 3 are journaled in supports attached to the bars L above the' rollers 1, 2, and 3. The guides 4 5 are journaled in the frame above the path of movement of the rollers 1 2 3. The web passes over roller a is looped under the roller 3*, passes over roller 4 is looped again under roller 2, passes over roller 5', and is looped again under roller 1, and passes then to the delivery A. As the upper loops of the web are opposite the lower loops of the web in the machine shown, and as all the looping-rollers are carried by the same frame or bars and operated by the same cams, an equal extent of movement is given to each looping-roller. Consequently the three upper loops of the web will exactly coincide with the three lower loops of the web, and as such lower loops are forming the upper loops give out exactly the same quantity of web that is taken up by the lower loops, and as the lower loops give the web out the upper loops take up all the web given out by the lower loops. In the example shown three looping-rollers are employed between the feed and the printing mechanism and also betweenthe printing mechanism and the delivery. I-Ieretofore a single looping-roller has been employed in each instance. It will be seen that by thus increasing the number of looping-rollers 011 the frame L the necessary throw of the rollers is reduced twothirds. For instance, in the duplex press in printing a twenty-four-inch web the loopingrollers would have to travel six inches; but by my improvement the throw of the loopingrollers is reduced to two inches, and consequently the eccentricity of the cams is greatly reduced and the movement of the rollers correspondingly slowed, as my looping-rollers have the same time to move two inches that is required for the single rollers to move six. It is obvious that the throw of the cam can be still further lessened or eased by increasing the number of looping-rollers on the frame.

The advantages of the improved constructions are the easing up of the camsand the slowing and lessening of movement of the looping-rollers.

I do not wish to restrict myself to any precise plural number of looping-rollers, nor do I restrict myself to the particular mechanism shown for operating these looping-rollers, as it is only essential that the looping-in and looping-out rollers have such relation to each other that the movement of web taken up by one will exactly correspond to the movement of web given off by the other.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination of printing mechanism comprising a pair of stationary beds and coacting impression-cylinders, and web feeding and delivery devices adapted to continuously feed and deliver a web to and from the printing mechanism; with two sets of weblooping devices intermediate the printing mechanism and the feed and delivery mechanisms, each set of devices comprising a plurality of fixed web-guides and a plurality of relatively movable webloopers, the movable loopers being mounted on a common support, one set of looping devices operating to take up the web while the other set of looping devices is giving out web, and vice versa.

2. In a web-printing machine, the combination of oontinuously-operating web feeding and delivering devices, and web-printing mechanism comprising stationary beds and coaoting cylinders intermediate the feed and delivery; with a web-looping mechanism between the feed and printing mechanisms, a second web-looping mechanism between the printing and delivery mechanisms, each of said looping mechanisms comprising four parallel web-guides and. three parallel movable loopers, and a reciprocating frame carrying both sets of the movable loopers, the movable loopers in each set being adapted to simultaneously form or give out loops in the web, and one set of the looping mechanisms operating oppositely to the other, all sub stantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HENRY F. BECHMAN.

In presence of- CI-IAs. A. GRAMES, F. W. DUNNING. 

